Derrick leg with reenforcing member



Feb. 24, 1931.

L. K. sTAFFoYRD DERRICK LEG WITH REENFORCING MEMBERl 4Filed. May 27.1929 Patented Feb. 24,-1931 'LYMAN K. STAFFORD, oF Los ANGELES',cALIFonNIA,-,Assrerion To Frisco nFgaRieK FORNIA 'i -& EQUIPMENTCOMPANY, 0F LOSVANGELES, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION DF CALI- Applicationkfiled May 27,

j My invention relates to derricks used in the Well drilling industryand in particular to a type of leg-construction for use With-'der- Mriclzs of this yclass in which 'a reenforcing "sinember isattachedtotheleg.

Derricks are used'during thedrilling'of 'a' Well for the purpose -ofhandling the va rious casings, drill pipe,.'and other equipment used inthis operation. VThe drilling V equipment often Weighs vmany tons and itis customary to support the Weight vthereofvvby the croWn-bloclryvhichis located at the top of the derrickstructure.v 'The'crovvn-block l p issupported mainly by the derrick legs which 15 are often strengthened byreenforcing members so as to better lsupport the Weight. lWhen sostrengthened-it is desirable to have the ree'nforcingl members support aportion l p lof the Weight of the crown-block so as to relieve thevderrick legs of this Weight'. This further strengthens the derrick,which must kbe constructed heavily enough tofvvithstand the stresses towhich it is subjected during -the drilling of the Well. f l

l After the Well is drilled andthe pumping operation ybegins thederricl; is 'not subjected to such great stresses,as the pumpingequipment is relatively light in Weight as com- M pared to the drillingequipment.' The der- A rick may therefore be of lighter constructionduring the pumping of the Well and itr'is customary to remove thereenforcing members after the drilling is "completed.

Itis an object of my invention to provide a reenforcing member of novelvform which may be attached tothederrick legs during the drillingoperationV to provide a strong construction 'andk whichV may be easilyremovedV therefrom, so as to provide a lighter 40 construction duringthe pumping operation.

V VThis provides a great-'economy in the' construction of derricls, asthe derrick need only be of heavy enough construction for the pumpingoperation and may be strengthened V15 for the drilling operation byvmeans of the vnFRRIoiiLEG. WITH RFFNFORGING MEMBER 1929. serial Naseem.l

lreenforcing members.' VAfter the reenforcl Ving members have been usedfor one drilling operation thev may be removed and used onanother-derrick.

It is another object of my invention to pro-v fyide a novel meansofsecuringthe reenforcy.mg members to the derricklegs so Athat they easilyremoved 'when' it is so desired.

Will be rigidly secured thereto but maybe` Further objects of myinvention'vvill a'p' pear hereinafter.

shown a device 4of my invention. f,

Fig. 1 is' a side view showing a derrick le With a reenforcing member ofmy invention attached thereto.

fas

In theV accompanying.- drawing have Fig. 2 is a partial section takenonline le ig. 5 is a vievv showinglthe appearance of a special Washerused in attachingthe reenforcing member to the derrick leg.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. l'fshows'a permanent derrick leg 10 towhich are secured derrick brace members such asbase channels 11,reenforcing angles 12, girts 13, and Water table channels 111. Thederrick leg 10, shown yin the sectional vievvl in Fig-4, is .composed ofa semi-tubularportion 16 constituting a major part of a' cylinder, andintegrally formed flanges 18 lextending outvvardlyfrom the edgesthereof. AThe flanges `18 have outer faces 19 'Whichlare at right anglesto'V each other and ivfhich'provide surfaces on which to attach thederrick members.

Secured to the derrick leg 10 ontheinner side thereof is` a removablereenforcing leg member 20 of'my invention; ,Ifprefer t0 fur'- nish thereenforcing member 20 withithe samev cross-section as the'derrickleg 10so that they may be made from the saine stock Y material and-may beeasily secured Ytogether to form a strong construction.- 1n Fig. 4 isshown a section of the reenforcing member 20 consisting of a tubularportion 21, and integrally formed flanges 22 extending outwardly fromthe tubular portion 21, which flanges have right angled faces 23.

As shown in Fig. 4, the reenforcing member 2()` is attached to thederrick leg 10 with the internal angles of the flanges 18 and 22 ingmember 20 when securing'derrick mem`A l bers to the flanges 18 of thederrick leg 10.-

Between the edges 25 and 26 of the flanges 18 and 22 a bolt 27 ispassed, on which are vV blocks or Washers l28 which are best'shown inFig. 5. Each of the washers`28 has a central opening 29 and a rightangled groove or Y V on a face thereof. The incl-ined faces 31 of thegroove engage vthe rightV angled. faces 19 and y23of` the flanges 18:and 22 andV when a nut 32'on the bolt-27 is-tightened a w-edging actionoccurs which 'clamps the edges 25 and 26 of thel flanges 18 and 22tightly against the bolt 27. This provides an independent clamping meanswhich rigidlysecures the derrick leg 10 and the reenforcingv member 20together but allows them to be readily separated when the nut 32 on thebolt 27 is loosened, without disturbing the derrick members which aresecured to the flanges of the permanent leg member 10.

Y As best shown in Fig. 2, a supporting plate 34'is attached to thewater table, channels 14 bybolts 35 and has a grooved opening 36 in alower face thereof, into which the upper end of the reenforcing member2O is-inserted. The grooved opening 36 holds the vend of the.reenforcing member 20 in 1 place under the supporting plate 34 so thatthe weight of the water table and associated apparatus is supportedthereby. Y

. As best shown in'Fig. 3, a lifting-jack is associated withthe-lowerend of the reenforcing` member. said lifting-jack including alifting-head 37 having'fan upper cylindrical portion which is insertedwith a friction# tight fit into the opening formed by theV tubularVportion of the reenforcing member f' 20, and a flange 38 formed on itslower portion forming a shoulder 39 which contacts the lower end of thereenforcing member 20 and provides a support therefor. The friction-'tight fit of the lifting-head in the member 2O is made possible byreason ofthe fact that the semi-tubularportion of'said member 20 formsa-major part lof a cylinder and thus retains said head againsttransverse move-V ment. The head 37 has a threaded central opening 40into which an adjusting jack# screw 42 is threadedly inserted. vThejackvscrew 42 has a convex foot 43 which fits into aconcavity 44 formedin the upper surface` Vof a base block 45 supported on a foundationforcingl member 20l in compression and increases the load thereon.rAfter the load on the reenforcingmember 20 has been adjusted,

`shims 47 are placed between the head 43 and head 37 so as tolrelieve'the thrust `on the threads of thejack.`

It will be seen that the reenforcing member 20 may bequickly attached orremoved from the derrick since in attaching it thereto it isonlynecessary to insert the upper end thereof into the groovedopening36, secure it to the derrick leg 10 by the attaching means or bolt271and'washers 28, and adjust the load thereon by the j ack. The derrickis then reenforced for the heavy drilling work. Al/,Vhen.theiheavydrilling work is `completed and the relatively light pumping Work isbegun, ther reenforcing member 20V may. be easily'and quickly detachedfrom the derrick leg 10 and used elsewhere.

,Inclaim as my invention: Y

' 1 Ina derrick, thefcombination of; a leg structure comprising avpermanent, leg member and an'opposed relatively aligned removablelegmember, eachhaving a medial lon-` gitudinal body portion and integraltransversely diverging longitudinal-flanges, said leg members beingdisposed to face eachother to form a hollow column; brace membersassociated with said permanent' legkmember; v

'securing means for securingsaid brace members to the flanges of saidpermanent leg member; and attaching meansfor removably securing saidremovable leg member tosaid'- permanent leg member, said attaching meansbeing independent of saidsecuring'means whereby said removable legmember may be removed while said brace members remain secured to saidpermanent leg member.

2'. A combination as defined in claim 1 in which said independentattaching means eX- tends diametrically through said column `betweensaid leg members. 1

3. A combination asdefined in claim 1 in which said independentattaching means comprises opposed blocks embracing the adjacent ilangesof said-leg members and a bolt means extending diametrically throughsaid Y column between said leg members and functioning tov draw saidblocks towards each other. j ...f

4. In a derricl, the combination of: a leg structure comprising -avpermanent legmember and an opposed relatively aligned remov- K able legmember, each having-Va medial longitudinal body portion and integraltrans` versely diverging longitudinal flanges, said leg members beingdisposed to 'face each other to forma hollow column; brace membersassociated with said permanent ,leg member; securing means for securingsaid brace members to the flanges of said permanent leg' member; andattaching-meansfor removably securing said removable leg member to saidpermanent leg member so as to leave a space between said leg membersaording access to ber and an opposed relatively aligned re-lV movableleg member, each `having throughout its length a cross-sectional contourdefining a semi-tubular body portion having opposed longitudinal edgesand integral transversely diverging longitudinal flanges eX- tendingoutwardly from said edges, said leg p members being disposed to face'each other to form a hollow column; clamping means engaging over saidanges so as to leave a v space between said leg members; and attachingmeans extending through said space and said clamping means for removablysecuring said removable leg member to said permanent leg member.

6. In a derrick, the combination of: a leg structure comprising apermanent leg mem-- ber and an opposed relatively aligned removable legmember, each having throughout its length a cross-sectional contourdeining a semi-tubular body portion comprising a major portion of acylinder and having'opposed longitudinal edges and integral transversely'diverging longitudinal anges extending outwardly Jfrom said edges. saidleg members being disposed to face each other to form a hollow column;clamping meansengaging said flanges in a manner to leave a space betweensaid leg members; and attaching means extending through said space andsaid elamping means for removably securing said removable leg member tosaid permanent leg member.

7. In a derrick, the combination of: a leg structure comprising apermanent leg member and an opposed relatively aligned removable legmember, each having a medial longitudinal body portion and integraltransversely diverging longitudinal flanges, said leg members beingdisposed to 'face each other to form a hollow column; elevating meansfor adjustably supporting said removable leg member so as to adjust theload on said removable leg member, said elevating means having a liftinghead engaging within the body portion of said removable leg member andsaid body portion being semi-tubular and p comprising a major portion ofa cylinder so as to prevent lateral displacement of said lifting head;and means for removably securing said removable leg memberto said per-Vmanent leg member. l

In testimony whereof, Il have hereunto .set

my handat Los-Angeles, Californiathis 20th 1 75 day of May, 1929.

LYMAN K. STAFFORD. l

